Some chemicals that we have produced remain in the environment pose a huge risk to ecosystems and human health, the problem is complex, but it does appear there are some solutions to this. So-called forever chemicals could stay indefinably, however science is finding a way to deal with these.

• 'Forever' chemical that is toxic to humans, found in five Welsh rivers – United Kingdom
• Researchers Discover Simple Solution To Break Down “Forever” Chemicals
• PFAS
• trifluoroacetic acid (TFA)
• Compound Chemistry infographic

Links

• General Chemistry Matrix Channel

Tags

#Chemistry,#ForeverChemicals,#Science,#PFAS,#TFA

Mastodon	ShellLabs	Join Mastodon

AI statement : Consent is NOT granted to use the content of this blog for the purposes of AI training or similar activity. Consent CANNOT be assumed, it has to be granted.

As part of chemistry week 2024, I am sharing a few infographics from the Compound Interest website

Today we look at Evidence in Science. This is more general to science, but it is important to understand the science processes in research.

• Link to graphic

Other links

• Science Forums – Chemistry
• Matrix – Chemistry

Tags

#Science,#Chemistry,#Science,#Evidence

Mastodon	ShellLabs	Join Mastodon

AI statement : Consent is NOT granted to use the content of this blog for the purposes of AI training or similar activity. Consent CANNOT be assumed, it has to be granted.

I am working on a follow-up to the Hydrogen Balloon.

I have so far taken a conical flask, glass tube, rubber tube and a beaker which is half full of water. The idea being the reaction takes place in the flask, and the Hydrogen is passed in to the beaker to show the gas has been transferred.

As with most things, it is a case of trial and error, when developing what you are doing.

The set-up is similar to below

Tags

#Chemistry,#Gas,#Hydrogen,#Experiment

Mastodon	ShellLabs	Join Mastodon

AI statement : Consent is NOT granted to use the content of this blog for the purposes of AI training or similar activity. Consent CANNOT be assumed, it has to be granted.

In an effort to come up with some interesting STEM demonstrations, I have now turned to making Hydrogen Gas,

Hydrogen is the lightest element, on Saturday I was at the STEAM café. I know that I can put Magnesium Ribbon in to a Conical Flask of White Vinegar and this produces Hydrogen gas. I tried to collect this using a balloon, it worked. However, we lost the balloon as it came away from the flask, but as a proof of concept, we know the idea works.

I have now tried this again at home, I don't have much white vinegar left, so I would assume this is a mix of Hydrogen or just Hydrogen as it is lighter. Either way, the following set up will produce the gas and inflate a balloon.

What I need to do now is find a way to seal up the balloon without losing the collected gas.

In theory it should be possible to use a lighted splint to ignite the balloon and Hydrogen within. This is DANGEROUS so DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.

We know the hydrogen is in the balloon as it should rise if let go and sealed, where as a balloon full of air will fall as air (a mixture of gasses) is heavier.

The above is a picture of the inflated Balloon, as a proof of concept again it inflated, I need to use more white vinegar so there is less air in the flask to begin with, so more change of collecting the actual Hydrogen gas properly.

Tags

#Chemistry,#Gas,#Hydrogen,#Experiment

Mastodon	ShellLabs	Join Mastodon

AI statement : Consent is NOT granted to use the content of this blog for the purposes of AI training or similar activity. Consent CANNOT be assumed, it has to be granted.

At the STEAM Café in Paignton, I am looking for some ideas for some science workshops / demonstrations.

One idea is to make slime, for this we need a household chemical called Borax. Or Sodium tetraborate decahydrate. This along side PVA (Poly Vinyl Acetate) and water should produce a long chain molecule that resembles a slime type material.

PVA is safe and easy to use, as it is a glue. However, Borax is not that safe. So it is essential to understand the hazards and take appropriate steps.

So first things first. I have printed off the MSDS for Borax but also looked up information on the PubChem website. There is also a video explaining what Borax is on Youtube..

I have also looked up how to make various concentrations of this 1M,0.5M and 0.25M in 100ml volume (this is the only volumetric flask I have anyway).

This is not strictly needed, but useful to calculate anyway.

So back to making slime. I found a recipe at Little Bins. Little Hands so will be using that, as it gives me the quantities to use, but also explains the science.

I will post an update once I have had a go.

Tags

#Science,#Polymers.#Slime.#Borax,#PVA.#Chemistry

Mastodon	ShellLabs	Join Mastodon

AI statement : Consent is NOT granted to use the content of this blog for the purposes of AI training or similar activity. Consent CANNOT be assumed, it has to be granted.

This is a basic Python program to calculate how much solute is needed to make a particular concentration of a chemical for a given solution.

Enter mass of chemical, volume and concentration required. Program will calculate required solute needed.

#Chemical solute calculator
print("Chemical solute calculator")
print(" ")
print("This program will ask you for some basic data and will then calculate how much solute is needed for a given volume and concentration")
print(" ")
print("1 mol solution is formula weight in 1 liter of water")
print("")
print(" ")
print("Mass is the molecular mass of the chemical solution you're making e.,g Copper Sulfate is 249g")
print(" ")
print("Volume the total solution volume in litres,  100ml is written as 0.100")
print(" ")
print("Concentration required in Mols")
print(" ")
mass = input ("Mass in g: ") 
#print("Solute requred")
volume = input("Volume in l: ")
print((volume) + " l")
conc = input ("Required Concentration in M: ") 

solute = float(mass) * float(volume) * float(conc)
print("Solute required: ")
print(str(solute) + " g")
print(" ")
print("Note:  This program is a guide, and you should double check calculations")

There is a better online solution to this here

Program 2

This is a related ruby program to calculate different molar masses

# molar weight calculator
puts "molecular weight calculator"
puts
print "Enter Weight: "
weight = gets
print ("Weight :"); 
print (weight)
puts 
print ("0.5 Mol: ")
print weight.to_f / 2
puts
print ("2 Mol: ")
print weight.to_i * 2
puts 
print ("4 Mol: ")
print weight.to_i * 4
puts
puts 
print ("End")

Enter a molecular weight, and it will calculate ½, 2 and 4 moles accordingly. It is not perfect, just works.

Tags

#Science,#Chemistry,#Calculator,#Mole,#Solution,#Solute

Mastodon	ShellLabs	Join Mastodon

AI statement : Consent is NOT granted to use the content of this blog for the purposes of AI training or similar activity. Consent CANNOT be assumed, it has to be granted.

New method uses AI to design artificial proteins

This research is related to the 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry. Using AI to design proteins.

Protein design aims to create customized antibodies for therapies, biosensors for diagnostics, or enzymes for chemical reactions. An international research team has now developed a method for designing large new proteins better than before and producing them with the desired properties in the laboratory.

Links

• Article – Phys.org
  • Phys.org
  • Article in Science
• Protein folding

Tags

#Science,#Chemistry,#BioChemistry,#AI,#Protein,#ProteinFolding, #Design,#Medicine,#NobelPrize

Mastodon	ShellLabs	Join Mastodon

AI statement : Consent is NOT granted to use the content of this blog for the purposes of AI training or similar activity. Consent CANNOT be assumed, it has to be granted.

Another infographic from Compound Interest

• Celebrating disabled scientists

Other links

• Science Forums – Chemistry
• Matrix – Chemistry

Tags

#Science,#Scientists,#Disabled

Mastodon	ShellLabs	Join Mastodon

AI statement : Consent is NOT granted to use the content of this blog for the purposes of AI training or similar activity. Consent CANNOT be assumed, it has to be granted.

Another infographic from Compound Interest

• Aurora Colours

Other links

• Science Forums – Chemistry
• Matrix – Chemistry

Tags

#Aurora,#Colours

Mastodon	ShellLabs	Join Mastodon

AI statement : Consent is NOT granted to use the content of this blog for the purposes of AI training or similar activity. Consent CANNOT be assumed, it has to be granted.

As part of chemistry week 2024, I am sharing a few infographics from the Compound Interest website

Today we look at The mole, which is how much matter makes up the formula weight, so for example 12g of Carbon = 1 mole of Carbon as the atomic mass of Carbon is 12. Carbon is also used as the baseline for this.

• Link to graphic

Other links

• Science Forums – Chemistry
• Matrix – Chemistry

Tags

#Science,#Chemistry,#Science,#TheMole

Mastodon	ShellLabs	Join Mastodon

AI statement : Consent is NOT granted to use the content of this blog for the purposes of AI training or similar activity. Consent CANNOT be assumed, it has to be granted.